A person is hung until he agrees to sell his field. He takes the money. Is the sale valid?
Even extreme duress (hanging) does not automatically void a sale. The seller is considered to have mentally committed to the transaction. The sale is valid unless he issued a prior moda'ah to witnesses.
Question 2
What must a valid moda'ah (protest) contain to nullify a sale?
A valid moda'ah requires two witnesses who know independently (not just from the seller's word) that the seller is genuinely under duress. A protest that relies solely on the seller's claim is not valid.
Question 3
A person tells two witnesses: 'Know that I am giving this gift under pressure' — but there is no external duress. Is the gift valid?
Gifts require full inner consent. For gifts and waivers, a moda'ah alone — even without externally proven duress — is sufficient to nullify the transfer. Gifts follow the giver's inner will, not external acts.
Question 4
A coerced seller says 'I sell willingly' in front of the coercer and the witnesses. Does this nullify his prior moda'ah?
The witnesses who know about the compulsion understand that the verbal retraction is itself coerced. Just as the seller was forced to sell against his will, he was forced to say he was selling willingly. The moda'ah remains valid.
Question 5
A seller tells moda'ah witnesses: 'Any kinyan I later perform to cancel this moda'ah is also under duress.' The coercer then gets the seller to perform a kinyan nullifying the moda'ah. Is the sale valid?
A seller may pre-protest any future kinyan performed under compulsion. If this pre-protest was communicated to the moda'ah witnesses, then any subsequent kinyan 'nullifying' the moda'ah is itself coerced and invalid. The sale remains void.